Green and white are very accommodating colours in the garden as they are both clean and fresh. This combination caught my eye with the Climbing Hydrangea petiolaris just flowing over the top of a wall in which was growing Valerian alba. Against the wall was an Acer platanoides Drummondii and all the colours seemed to blend so well. …
Rockery plants look very good in spring as they trail over rocks and edges in the garden. The rockery mimics natural conditions for these alpine dwellers often with limestone rocks or fast draining poor soil.
Top Rockery Plants for Beginners
Magnolia in Full Bloom Outside the Radcliffe Camera, Oxford University.
Magnolia’s make an excellent garden plant, flowering in March – May. Early flowering varieties may be susceptible to frost. This can be avoided by protecting flowers with fleece on late spring frosts. With global warming, late frosts may reduce in severity but do not hold your breath.
Primula veris is more commonly known as the Cowslip but also resides under the alternative names of Palsieworts, Paigles, Cowslop or Petty Mulleins.
The range of local names hints at the uses and affection for this cheerful plant.
Cowslips are still used in herbal remedies for nervous complaints and paralysis. Perhaps that is where the old name, Palsieworts comes from. Cowslop is not as fragrant.
Traditional Cowslip wine probably needs too many flowering heads to sustain the wild population of plants.
Other names that relate to their similarity to a bunch of keys include ‘key flower’ and ‘key of heaven’ whilst ‘fairy cups’ and ‘tittypines’ are a bit more avaunt-guard.
Locations for Growing Cowslips.
I liked this field of wild flowers that included a large number of Cowslips. Obviously from the common name of primula veris you would expect them to be at home in a meadow.
Caught in a corner of a field the shelter provided by the wall shows off the top Cowslip to advantage.
When grown in clumps in a border or raised bed they combine well with other spring and early summer flowering plants.
I like them for the freshness in a small rock garden.
With the loss to agriculture of much meadow land it is now also worth seeking out the wild flowers on cliff tops and undisturbed land at the seaside.
Propagating Cowslips …
Prime space and time are precious commodities for every one growing crops from the biggest corporate farmer to the smallest window box gardener.
Planning Tips
Know why you are growing each crop. Is it for flavour, feeding the family, aiming for show quality or just to enjoy the process.
Only grow crops that you or your family will want to eat. Do not grow just for the compost heap.
Sow in succession to avoid gluts.
Consider ‘catch’ crops to use the available space more intensively.
Plants perform better with adequate space.
Tips to Help Plants Excel …
Growing Ornamental Grass can be easy and it will create a natural effect in your own garden. Aim for a mixture of textures, shapes and colours using leaves, flowers and seed heads.
In an open setting, with a low sun shining through, many grass plants can produce stunning effects.
Growing Tips
Black tulips, blue Daffodils, and red Delphiniums are all plants that have been discovered or launched on the unsuspecting public in the past. However in these cases not is all as expected.
Now comes a revolutionary grass that needs no lawn mower to keep it in check.
It is also moss proof and a major boon after this wet soggy winter.
Unfortunately you can’t smoke it (or if you did it wouldn’t give you much of a high.)
Are insects attracted to colours or do some purple flowers have more nectar and pollen to attract insects in the first place?
Anne Bebbington quoted in Science and Plants for schools says ‘You need to take into account that different sorts of insects see colour differently. Most insects except for some butterflies do not see red well. Flowers may have colour which we can’t see but insects can e.g. ultraviolet markings.
Colour is not the only thing that attracts insects, scent e.g. is often important. Again it it is very likely that there are scents that we can not detect.’
According to my Lithuanian friends ‘If you keep bees, or if you would like to attract more of them into your garden, consider sowing lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.), viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare L.) and borage (Borago officinalis L.). In addition to their honey-producing properties, they also make an attractive addition to your border. Some attention should be given to caterpillars of butterflies. Plants in the pea family (clover, sweet clover), as well as the cruciferous plants (field penny-cress, shepherd’s purse, bitter cress, brassicas) are most appealing to caterpillars of beneficial insects.’ see more on mygarden.
Fpor more varieties of Purple flowers read or Purple patch
Blackthorn is a multi branched, deciduous tree or bush that can grow up to 20 feet tall (the Blackthorn in this photo was 7 feet tall as were the ferns!).
The stem is dark to black and the small branches create thorns hence the name Blackthorn but in Latin Prunus Spinosa.
Like its relative the Cherry plum, Blackthorn produces small fruit we know as Sloes.
The thorns can be very sharp and the bush can be a bit ragged unless kept in check.
Blackthorn is often used for and found in hedgerows or on the edges of woodland and is easy to grow as part of your mixed hedge. In early Spring it is covered in small white blossom before the leaves come into bud. Blackthorn is good for attracting butterfly caterpillars but is best known for the small, spherical, blue-black fruit that are available in late Autumn.
I am trying some October planted onions for an early crop next June. A proportion I am going to plant in a cold but airy greenhouse for a bit of protection. I intend picking these before I plant next years tomatoes but we will see.
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